Spring unit lacing machines



Dec. 21, 1965 A. TURLEY 3,224,470

SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,za ,4: ,fi -.j --7L ALFRED TURLEY ATTORNEYS Dec. 21, 1965 i A. TURLEY 3,224,470

SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOl-P ALFRED TURLEY ATTORNEYS Dec. 21, 1965 A. TURLEY 3,224,470

SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 //VVE/VTOR ALFRED TURLEY a e/2 g:

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,224,470 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,470 SPRING UNIT LACING MACHINES Alfred Turley, Bnshbnry, Wolverhampton, England, as-

signor to Vono Limited, Tipton, England, a British company Filed May 14, 1963, Ser. No. 280,279 3 Claims. (Ql. 140-923) This invention relates to a machine for lacing together coil springs to make up a spring unit such as the interior for a mattress, cushion or the like, wherein parallel rows of springs are laced together at top and bottom by longitudinally extending wire helices which suflice to connect together the coils of opposed springs in adjacent rows at top and bottom.

The invention is particularly concerned with a machine of'the type described in my prior patent No. 3,026,914, which machine broadly comprises upper and lower elongated frames, each of which carries a series of jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly having a pair of jaws for clamping an end coil of a spring placed between a pair of opposed jaw assemblies, and there being a device on each frame for projecting a wire helix longitudinally of the frame to lace together the coils of two sets of springs which are held together between the jaws. Such a machine also includes a transporter mechanism for engaging the laced-together coils and moving them forwardly and also for bringing a fresh row of coil springs in between the jaws, and ejector mechanism in the upper and lower jaw assemblies for acting upon the laced-together coils to displace them out of the jaws.

In such prior machine, the transporter mechanism by virtue of its construction, is only capable of dealing with one size of spring and this mechanism had to be designed to cater for springs the end coils of which were of a certain diameter and the mechanism can only deal with springs of this size. The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in the transporter mechanism which will enable adjustment to be made whereby springs having coils of various diameters can be laced together in the machine.

According to the invention there is provided a machine of the type above specified having transporter means for each jaw assembly comprising a longitudinally reciprocable transporter member mounted on the jaw assembly for reciprocating movement in a direction at right angles to the line of a row of springs between the jaw assemblies, means in the drive to said transporter member for adjusting the working stroke thereof, and stop means on the jaw assembly to locate the end coil of a spring placed thereon, the position of said stop means in relation to the centre of the jaws being adjusted to cater for different diameters of spring end coils.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawin gs wherein,

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of one jaw assembly in the lower frame shown with the rack bar removed.

FIGURE 2 is a section on the vertical centre line of FIGURE 1, certain details not connected with the invention being omited for clarity.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged plan view of a rack bar.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary end view of the machine illustrating the safety device in the drive to the transporter mechanism.

FIGURE 5 is a view from the right in FIGURE 4, and,

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged view from the left of the bottom half of FIGURE 4.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the general construction of the machine is similar to that described in our prior application and only those parts of the machine concerned with the present invention are hereinafter shown and described. The jaw assemblies in the upper and lower frames are of the same construction as one another and FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrate one of the jaw assemblies in the lower frame; those in the upper frame will be the same only inverted as.

compared with the lower ones.

Each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw 10 and a moving jaw 11 which moves away from the fixed jaw to allow the end coil of a fresh spring to drop into the space 12 between the jaws alongside the end coil of a spring in the previous row so that these two springs can be laced together in the manner described in our earlier application.

The body of each jaw assembly is made in two parts 13 and 14, upper 13 and lower 14 secured together along horizontal planes, so that for inspection and maintenance the one half 13 can easily be removed to expose the interior of the jaw assembly Without having to dismantle surrounding parts of the machine.

Also there would be provided for each jaw assembly on outwardly moving ejector member FIG. 2 (of a type disclosed in my afore-mentioned Patent 3,026,914) for pushing the laced coils out of the jaws, and power-operated driving means for causing operation of the jaw opening device and the ejector means in timed relationship with one another and also in timed relationship with the operation of the transporter mechanism hereinafter described.

In the improved form of transporter mechanism, each jaw assembly, on the entry side (indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 2), has a platform 15 which extends inwardly and upwardly towards the two jaws and the jaw which is immediately adjacent the inner end 16 of this inclined platform is the fixed jaw 10, whilst the other jaw opens and closes.

Fixed to the exposed face of such inclined platform 15 is a cap member 17 which extends from the outer end of the platform inwardly therealong for about two thirds of the length, and the inner end of this cap member has a substantially vertical face 18 which forms the aforesaid stop means which locates the one side of the end coil of a fresh spring which has just been moved to place the opposed side of this end coil in between the jaws. The upper portion of such end face 18 also provides a location for the one end coil of another spring which can be placed in between the opposed platforms 15 of the jaw assemblies whilst a lacing operation is in progress so that a complete row of springs is ready to be advanced into the jaws immediately after one lacing operation is finished. The inclined surfaces 19 of the cap members of the opposed upper and lower jaw assemblies form an inwardly convergent throat so that as a spring is pushed into this throat its end coils engaging the aforesaid cap members are forced together until they spring over the respective end faces 13 of the inner ends of the cap members, and the spring is then held in a state of compression between the jaw assemblies ready for the transporter means to move it forwardly.

Such transporter means comprises for each upper and lower jaw assembly, a rack bar 20 which is slidably mounted in opposed longitudinally extending slots 21 and 22 formed in the inclined platform and the associated cap member respective of each jaw assembly. At each side of slot 21 there is a guide block 23 secured in a recess in the platform 15 and having a lip 24 which projects into the slot and is adapted to slidably engage a groove 25 on the adjacent side of the rack bar as the rack bar reciprocates.

Mounted in the jaw assembly below each rack bar 20 is a pinion 26 which is in constant mesh with the teeth 3 of the lower face of the rack bar. All the pinions 26 in the lower jaw assemblies are mounted upon a common shaft 27 extending from side to side of the machine and similarly for all the pinions in the upper jaw assemblies.

On its upper face the rack bar 20 has a longitudinal slot 28 and a transverse slot 29 with a wire 30 seated in the slot 28. One end 31 of the wire is bent at right angles to engage in slot 29 to anchor the wire in position. The other end of the Wire 32 is bent upwardly a slight amount and when the rack bar is in the fully retracted position (FIG. 2) thisend of the wire passes into a slot 33 cut in the end face of the cap 17. In FIG. 2 the rack bar is shown in the fully retracted position on the return stroke and just prior to reaching this point the turned-up end 32 of the wire gives a slick kick to the end coil of the spring which is resting in between the jaw, as it passes under this end coil, thus causing the'spring to settle properly in place between the jaws.

Considering the position with the rack bar fully retracted (FIG. 2) there is a spring in between the jaws and another spring having been pushed in between the inclined cap 17 of the upper and lower jaw assemblies so that it goes over the turned-up wire end 32 and its end coil lies on top of the end coil of the spring in the jaws. As the rack bar moves inwardly its forward end 34 engages the end coil of the spring which has just been inserted and this spring is pulled from between the inclined platforms, and at the same time theforward end 34 of the rack bar engages the end coil of the spring which has already been laced between the jaws and pushes this forwardly, after the ejector member has pushed it from between the jaws. Thus the already laced rows of springs are pushed out of the jaws by a distance of one row, and the fresh row of springs is pulled into the jaws by the movement of the rack bars. It will be appreciated that exactly the same action occurs in the upper jaw assembly upon the upper end coils of the springs, the upper jaw assembly being an inverted replica of the lower one.

Each cap member 17 is secured to its associated inclined platform by means of two securing screws 35, one at each longer side of the cap member, and each securing screw passes through an elongated slot 36 in the cap member so that by slackening the screws the cap member can be pushed inwardly or outwardly in relation to the centre of the jaws and thus the distance between the inner end face 18 of the cap member and the centre of the jaws can be adjusted according tothe diameter of the end coil of the type of spring which is being laced at any particular time in the machine.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 to 6, the upper and lower shafts 27 which carry the transporter pinions 26 are both driven from a common vertically arranged shaft 40 disposed at one end of the machine, such shaft having a pair of vertically spaced bevel gears 41 meshing with bevel gears 42 provided at these ends of the two shafts which carry the transporter pinions 26.

In order to prevent damage to the transporter means and its drive in the event of a blockage occurring, a safety device is provided in the drive.

At its lower end, the aforementioned vertical shaft 40 has a further bevel gear 43 which is in mesh with the teeth formed at the edge of a quadrant shaped rack 44 pivotally mounted about the axis of a stub shaft which is mounted in a suitable bearing in a fixed frame member 45 at this end of the machine.

The part of this quadrant rack 44 which is mounted about the stub shaft has an axially projecting sleeve portion 45, upon which is mounted a further sleeve member 46 having two arms 47 and 47A projecting radially at ap proximately diametrically opposed positions and also provided with a locking pin 49 which functions to' lock this sleeve member non-rotatably to the sleeve portion of the quadrant rack. This locking pin 49 extends in a tangential direction through a passage formed in the sleeve member 46'and is provided immediate its ends, witha concave recess of radius of curvature corresponding to the internal diameter of the sleeve member, and normally the locking pin, when tightened up by means of a nut screwed on to its end projecting from the sleeve member, is pulled down onto the sleeve portion of the quadrant rack to lock these two parts together, then, when the nut is loosened, the quadrant rack 44 and sleeve member 46 can be adjusted in relation to one another, and this is one aspect of adjustment provided in the drive to the transporter pinion when changing over the machine to work on a diiferent size of spring coil.

The one projecting arm 47 of the sleeve member 46 has pivotally mounted on its outer end one end of a curved pressure-release lever St), the other end of which is com nected to the outer end of the other arm 27A of the sleeve member 48 by means of a coil tension spring 51 which pulls this end of the curved pressure-release lever towards this other arm 47A of the sleeve member 46, and on its inner face this pressure-release lever 50 has secured a curved bar 52 the inner curved face of which forms a track for engagement with one arm 53 of a two-armed actuating lever 54 which is mounted loosely about the aforesaid stub shaft. This one arm 53 of the two-armed lever 54 is normally down at the inner end of said track 52 (as in FIGURE 4) bearing against the pivot pin 55 of the pressure-release lever 56 and under normal operating conditions, on the forward operating stroke of the transporter means, the pressure of the tension springSl is great enough to hold the pressure-release lever 50 in fixed relation to the aforesaid sleeve member 46 so that the assembly is formed a rigid connection between the two-armed lever 54 and the quadrant rack 44 and angular movement of the two-armed lever 54 results in corresponding angular movement of the quadrant rack 44 thus causing reciprocating rotary movement of the shaft 40.

v The other arm 56 of the two-armed lever 54 has pivotally connected thereto the one end of a connecting rod 57 which is formed in two 'parts and joined together at the centre by a turn-buckle arrangement 58 having right and left hand threads so that the overall effective length of the connecting rod 57 can be adjusted and this provides a further aspect in the adjustment of the stroke of the transporter means.

At its other end, the connecting rod 57 is pivotally secured to a crank member 59 connected to a shaft 60 rotating in suitable bearing in the machine and driven in timed relationship with the other rotating members of the machine and this crank member has a radially extending part 61 formed with a radial slot 62 of substantial keyhole cross-section, the inner portion of the slot being wider than the outer portion, and the crank pin 63 which connects the end of the connecting rod 57 to the crank member 59 has an enlarged head 64 which is slidably engaged in this slot. The crank pin also has, extending diametrically therethrough, an internally threaded hole in which is engaged the threaded part of a crank pin adjusting screw 65 which is carried by the crank member and is captively and rotatably mounted in a retaining strap 66 secured to the outer end of the crank member. Thus, by rotation of the crank pin adjusting screw 65 the crank pin can be shifted radially inwards or outwards in relation to the axis of rotation of the crank member 59 and this provides a further aspect in the adjustment of the stroke of the transporter means when changing from one size of coil spring to another.

The safety device above described is to guard against damage to the transporter means or to the drive in the event of any stoppage or blockage occurring when the transporter means is operating to advance springs into the machine. Should such blockage occur, the excessive restriction against movement of the transporter means would cause the one arm 53 of the two-armed lever 54 to exert such force on the track 52 of the pressure-release lever 50 as to cause this arm 53 to ride along the track 52 and extend the tension spring 51, forcing the pressure-release lever 50 outwardly, and thus breaking the effective driving connection between the two-armed lever 54 and the quadrant rack 44.

Further, the above described safety device has the advantage over a breakable safety device, such as a shear pin, in that it re-sets itself and avoids the delay which is necessary when refitting a broken shear pin. Once the drive has been stopped, the spring pressure on the arm 53 will force the arm back out to its original position in engagement with the pressure-release lever 50.

What I claim then is:

1. In a coil spring lacing machine for lacing together coil springs comprising, an elongated upper frame and an elongated lower frame, each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies, for clamping together the end coils of two rows of springs held between the upper and lower jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw and a slidable jaw movable toward and away from the fixed jaw to respectively close and open the jaws, means for opening and closing the jaw assemblies, each frame having at one end means for forming and advancing a wire helix for lacing together the end coils of the springs and a transporter mechanism for each jaw assembly for engaging the laced together coils and moving them forwardly, and also bringing a fresh row of coil springs in between the jaws, the improvement wherein said transporter mechanism comprises a rack bar having teeth thereon, means for slidably mounting said rack bar for reciprocatory movement in a direction at right angles to the line of a row of springs between the jaw assemblies, a pinion in mesh with the teeth on the rack bar, an upper common drive shaft, a lower common drive shaft, the pinions of the upper jaw assemblies being mounted upon the upper common drive shaft, the pinions of the lower jaw assemblies being mounted upon the lower common drive shaft, a main drive shaft, means for driving said upper and lower common drive shafts from said main drive shaft, adjustable stop means on each jaw assembly to locate the end coil of a spring placed thereon, means for adjusting the position of said stop means in relation to the center of the jaws to allow for different diameters of spring end coils, means for providing reciprocating rotary movement of the main drive shaft and further adjustment means for altering the extent of reciprocating rotary movement of the main drive shaft.

2. In a coil spring lacing machine for lacing together coil springs comprising, an elongated upper frame and an elongated lower frame, each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies for clamping together the end coils of two rows of springs held between the upper and lower jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw, and a slidable jaw movable towards and away from the fixed jaw to respectively close and open the jaws, means for opening and closing the jaw assemblies, each frame having at one end means for forming and advancing a wire helix for lacing together the end coils of the springs and a transporter mechanism for each jaw assembly for engaging the laced-together coils and moving them forwardly and also bringing a fresh row of coil springs in between the jaws, the improvements comprising an inclined platform on the entry side of each jaw assembly, said platforms forming mutually inclined surfaces converging inwardly of the machine so that a spring is compressed when inserted between said platforms, a cap member for each platform, means for adjustably securing the cap member to the platform, the cap member extending from the outer end part-way inwardly of the platform, a substantially vertically extending shoulder at the inner end of each cap member, said shoulder constituting adjustable stop means to locate the end coil of a spring placed on each jaw assembly, and wherein said transporter mechanism comprises a rack bar having teeth thereon, means for slidably mounting said rack bar in between the cap and the platform for reciprocatory movement in a direction at right angles to a line of springs between the jaw assemblies, a pinion in mesh with the teeth on the rack bar, an upper common drive shaft, a lower common drive shaft, the pinions of the upper jaw assemblies being mounted upon the upper common drive shaft, the pinions of the lower jaw assemblies being mounted upon the lower common drive shaft, a main drive shaft, means for driving said upper and lower common drive shafts from said main drive shaft, means for providing reciprocating rotary movement of the main drive shaft and further adjustment means for altering the extent of reciprocating rotary movement of the main drive shaft.

3. In a coil spring lacing machine for lacing together coil springs comprising, an elongated upper frame and an elongated lower frame, each carrying a plurality of clamping jaw assemblies for clamping together the end coils of two rows of springs held between the upper and lower jaw assemblies, each jaw assembly comprising a fixed jaw, and a slidable jaw movable towards and away from the fixed jaw to respectively close and open the jaws, means for opening and closing the jaw assemblies, each frame having means at one end for forming and advancing a wire helix for lacing together the end coils of the springs and a transporter mechanism for each jaw assembly, for engaging the laced together coils and moving them forwardly and also bringing a fresh row of coil springs in between the jaws, the improvements comprising an inclined platform on the entry side of each jaw assembly, said platforms forming mutually inclined surfaces converging inwardly of the machine so that a spring is compressed when inserted between said platforms, a cap member for each platform, the cap member extending from the outer end part-way inwardly of the platform, a substantially verticaly extending shoulder at the inner end of each cap member, said shoulder constituting adjustable stop means to locate the end coil of a spring placed on each jaw assembly, and wherein said transporter mechanism comprises a rack bar having teeth thereon, means for slidably mounting said rack bar in between the cap and the platform for reciprocatory movement in a direction at right angles to a line of springs between the jaw assemblies, a pinion in mesh with the teeth on the rack bar, an upper common drive shaft, a lower common drive shaft, the pinions of the upper jaw assemblies being mounted upon the upper common drive shaft, the pinions of the lower jaw assemblies being mounted upon the lower common drive shaft, a main drive shaft, means for driving said upper and lower common drive shafts from said main drive shaft, means for providing back and forth rotary movement of the main drive shaft, said means including a two-armed lever pivotally mounted about a fixed axis in the machine, a connecting rod pivotally connected to one arm of said two-armed lever, a further lever pivotally mounted about said fixed axis for transmitting rotary movement to the main drive shaft, a pressure release lever pivotally connected to said further lever, spring means normally hold ing said pressure release lever in engagement with the other arm of the two-armed lever, whereby said other arm normally transmits angular rotary movement to said further lever and means for oscillating the connecting rod in time relation with the other power operated parts of the machine, said pressure release lever being movable against the pressure of said spring means to permit said other arm of the two-armed lever to move angularly relative to said further lever.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,459 4/1933 Gail 92.6 2,176,262 10/1939 Kirchner 14092.8 2,388,106 10/1945 Woller 140-924 2,980,149 4/1961 Spuhl 14092.8

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A COIL SPRING LACING MACHINE FOR LACING TOGETHER COIL SPRINGS COMPRISING, AN ELONGATED UPPER FRAME AND AN ELONGATED LOWER FRAME, EACH CARRYING A PLURALITY OF CLAMPING JAW ASSEMBLIES, FOR CLAMPING TOGETHER THE END COILS OF TWO ROWS OF SPRINGS HELD BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER JAW ASSEMBLIES, EACH JAW ASSEMBLY CCOMPRISING A FIXED JAW AND A SLIDABLE JAW MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE FIXED JAW TO RESPECTIVELY CLOSE AND OPEN THE JAWS, MEANS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE JAW ASSEMBLIES, EACH FRAME HAVING AT ONE END MEANS FOR FORMING AND ADVANCING A WIRE HELIX FOR LACING TOGETHER THE END COILS OF THE SPRINGS AND A TRANSPORTER MECHANISM FOR EACH JAW ASSEMBLY FOR ENGAGING THE LACED TOGETHER COILS AND MOVING THEM FORWARDLY, AND ALSO BRINGING A FRESH ROW OF COIL SPRINGS IN BETWEEN THE JAWS, THE IMPROVEMENT WHEREIN SAID TRANSPORTER MECHANISM COMPRISES A RACK BAR HAVING TEETH THEREON, MEANS FOR SLIDABLY MOUNTING SAID RACK BAR FOR RECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT IN A DIRECTION AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE LINE OF A ROW OF SPRINGS BETWEEN THE JAW ASSEMBLIES, A PINION IN MESH WITH THE TEETH ON THE RACK BAR, AN UPPER COMMON DRIVE SHAFT, A LOWER COMMON DRIVE SHAFT, THE PINIONS OF THE UPPER JAW ASSEMBLIES BEING MOUNTED UPON THE UPPER COMMON DRIVE SHAFT, THE PINIONS OF THE LOWER JAW ASSEMBLIES BEING MOUNTED UPON THE LOWER COMMON DRIVE SHAFT, A MAIN DRIVE SHAFT, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID UPPER AND LOWER COMMON DRIVE SHAFTS FROM SAID MAIN DRIVE SHAFT, ADJUSTABLE STOP MEANS ON EACH JAW ASSEMBLY TO LOCATE THE END COIL OF A SPRING PLACED THEREON, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE POSITION OF SAID STOP MEANS IN RELATION TO THE CENTER OF THE JAWS TO ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT DIAMTERS OF SPRING END COILS, MEANS FOR PROVIDING RECIPROCATING ROTARY MOVEMENT OF THE MAIN DRIVE SHAFT AND FURTHER ADJUSTMENT MEANS FOR ALTERING THE EXTENT OF RECIPROCATING ROTARY MOVEMENT OF THE MAIN DRIVE SHAFT. 